Environments that use avatars to represent users typically provide their own avatar creation tools. An avatar created by a user in one online environment is usually confined to that environment, so for each new environment, the user typically must create a separate, different avatar. To update characteristics of multiple avatars, the user must change each avatar separately within each environment, which can be time consuming.
Despite the apparent inefficiency of such a system, having a multiplicity of avatars may serve a practical purpose. Just as in real life, digital users exist in multiple contexts and may require different identities in different environments; for example, one identity for work, another for family and friends, another for video games, others for interests and hobbies, and so on. A different avatar in each situation allows the user to present a contextually relevant appearance.
Nevertheless, as the number of digital environments grows, the user is compelled to create and manage an ever-increasing number of avatars, which creates a disincentive to design a separate avatar for each new environment. This reduces the value of avatars generally, and for environments that use avatars, adds a barrier to adoption.
There are mechanisms that attempt to solve this problem by enabling users to use the same avatar in multiple environments, such as one disclosed by Mason et al. in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/279,643 (published as US 2010/0011422 A1).
However, such mechanisms require an avatar to be rendered identically in each environment, and therefore fail to provide the avatar's fundamental benefits, which include giving the user a contextually relevant identity, and each environment a consistent look and feel.
Therefore, what is needed is a solution to address at least some of these limitations.